49ers' Harbaugh puts on act to get edge on Hawks

11:45 am, Sunday, December 25, 2011

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh enjoys the final minutes of the game. The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Seattle Seahawks 33-17 at Candlestick Park Sunday September 11, 2011.

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh enjoys the final minutes of the game. The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Seattle Seahawks 33-17 at Candlestick Park Sunday September 11, 2011.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

49ers' Harbaugh puts on act to get edge on Hawks

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Before the 49ers went for it on 4th-and-2 from Seattle's 40-yard line on the opening drive of the third quarter Saturday, San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh called a timeout, huddled his offense around him and did his best to earn the NFL's version of an Academy Award.

Hoping to dupe the Seahawks into thinking the 49ers were preparing for some smash-mouth ball on 4th down, Harbaugh began screaming at his offensive linemen, as if firing them up for the challenge.

"It was a little bit of gamesmanship," Harbaugh said. "I was trying to direct it to the offensive line, saying that we were going to run the ball, so let's come off the ball, in case (the Seahawks were) looking. We had a play-action pass called."

There's no telling if Harbaugh's act fooled Seattle in the 49ers' 19-17 win, but it initially flummoxed quarterback Alex Smith, who wondered if his spittle-spewing coach had momentarily lost his senses.

"I was over there standing there, and he was going off on the linemen about running the ball and being physical," Smith said. "I'm thinking, 'It's 4th-and-2 or -3.' I said, 'OK, what play call are we going with?' and then he kind of alluded that it was going to be the play-action pass."

The pass was the right call. With the 49ers trailing 10-3, Smith rolled right and floated a 16-yard pass to tight end Vernon Davis, who kept his feet inbounds along the sideline. Two plays later, Smith and Davis connected on a 17-yard pass, which was immediately followed by Frank Gore's 4-yard touchdown run.

After the 49ers had managed three points in the first half, the eight-play, 75-yard march set the tone for the offense, which scored on four of its first five second-half possessions.

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Was Smith surprised his coach tried to use an elaborate bit of gamesmanship to win the game? The quarterback shook his head.

"Nothing surprises any of us anymore with him," Smith said. "He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve."